PREMIUM TIMES journalist Kabiru Yusuf has become the runner-up in the Working Journalist category at the African Fact-Checking Awards, the longest-running awards program honoring fact-checking journalism in Africa.
The award was held on Thursday at a gala evening in Nairobi, Kenya, marking the end of the inaugural Africa Facts 2022 summit.
Yusuf’s fact check on President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim to “leave Nigeria better than he found it” won the coveted second place.
Kabir Yusuf Award.
The report, released in July, examined the three areas of government Buhari was asked about in his June interview with Bloomberg: corruption, security and the economy.
Using internationally recognized metrics, Yusuf’s fact check found the president’s claim to be largely false. All economic indices have worsened under Mr. Buhari’s administration, while security and the fight against corruption cannot be said to have improved in the last seven years.
“I am immensely proud of Yusuf, a member of my team, for his glory at the Africa Checks Awards,” said Taiwo Adebayo, head of research and data desk at PREMIUM TIMES.
“This is a well-deserved recognition of the excellent work that Mr. Yusuf and the industry do and the rigor that they invest in our work.”
Award winners taking a photo together.
Mr. Yusuf is a member of the PREMIUM TIMES Research and Data Desk. He is a self-taught graphic designer who uses a variety of tools to creatively represent data and crunch numbers through infographics.
His co-authored investigation into Nigerians seeking asylum in Canada won the best story award in the online category of the 2022 Migration Reporting Contest in July.
A 2022 Climate Fellow from the Center for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Mr. Yusuf has written more than 300 reports on education, migration, gender, foreign affairs, budget data analysis, and public spending issues.
“I am immersed in gratitude for this glory and honor,” he said after winning the award.
“But I realized that earning this continental-level recognition underscores the many other needs that remain in our determination to hold government officials, public figures and corporations accountable.”
This year’s award ceremony also marks the 10th anniversary of Africa Check. Organizers said the need for accurate information in everyday life has spurred the growth of fact-checking in Africa and around the world.
“Fact checking works because we respond to a need for precision,” said Peter Cunliffe-Jones, founder of Africa Check.
The Africa Check Awards have three categories: Fact-Check of the Year by a Working Journalist; Fact check of the year by a professional fact checker; and Fact-Check of the Year for a journalism student.
The winner in the active journalist category was Nigerian journalist Kunle Adebajo for his fact-checking: “Russia claims that the United States is manufacturing biological weapons in Nigeria. Real?”
Award winners taking a photo together.
For his report on Unmasking the faces behind the anti-vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in Ghana, Jonas Nyabor, a fact checker from Dubawa Ghana won the Fact Checker of the Year category for a professional fact checker. The runner-up in that category was James Okong, a fact checker for AFP Fact-Check.
In the Student Journalism category, three students from the University of Mauritius; Vidyasharita Bumma, Mauree Kokeelavani and Sachita Gobeen won the award with their story verifying “misleading claims about vaccination of children” by a Mauritian media organization. The runner-up in that category was Elizabeth Henri-Heloise.
The winners of the Working Journalist and Professional Fact Checker categories each received a cash prize of US$3,000. Runners-up received $1,500 each. The winner of the student journalist category received $2,000 and the runner-up received $1,000.